Sensor Cleaning

RoryW

Two questions (and apologies if the answers are obvious)

1. How do you know when the sensor needs cleaning

2. How do you do it and is it best done by yourself or by a shop

this is the photo that received the comment to clean the sensor :

Masada

that looks like a dirty sensor. it might be on the lens though.,
try cleaning the lens and take a photo of something white like the ceiling or something but do it out of focus, the dirt should show up a lot more clearly.,
what camera is it?

EDIT: looks like its a D80 from your flickr, you can get one of those blower thingys to clean it but i just used those Lens cleaning wipes.,
Go into the cameras setting and select mirror lockup, take the lens off and you'll see the mirror is up and the sensor is exposed at the back of the camera. give that a wipe down but be gentle wth it, maybe try one of those sensor brushes if you prefer., after your done just turn the camera off and the mirror will return to normal.,

RoryW

nikon d80

i see the two circular splotches now on the right hand side of the photo

I have looked at the other photos taken today and not there on all of them so I suspect that it may be dirt on the lens or even a raindrop !

Will clean and retest tomorrow before I come home

Masada

sometimes the dirt might not show in the pics depending on the focus or could simply be moving around on the sensor.,

Oriel

vtec wrote: »

it might be on the lens though

A mark on the lens generally wouldn't be as pronounced as that since the light would be dispersed by the lens to a larger area over the sensor.

RoryW wrote: »

I have looked at the other photos taken today and not there on all of them so I suspect that it may be dirt on the lens or even a raindrop

I'd say the other shots were taken before this one and that this is dirt on the lens.
Buy a lens cleaning kit.

I don't understand why people on here are so scared of cleaning their sensor.
95% of my dust I get rid of by blowing on it. *shock* *horror*. It never did my D70s a damn bit of harm.
For the sensor, it's like cleaning the floor. Get some of the good stuff on the mop and give it a damn scrub. Well ok, not too hard, but hard enough to get the ****e off.
It's not going to disintegrate when you touch it you know...

RoryW

crap, I was hoping I wouldnt have to perform open heart surgery on the d80

Oriel

Oriel wrote: »

It's not going to disintegrate when you touch it you know...

I originally meant the sensor, but I guess the same could be said for the dirt.

Masada

RoryW wrote: »

crap, I was hoping I wouldnt have to perform open heart surgery on the d80

its not nearly as big a deal as it sounds, i had mine done in 2mins and its perfect, mine is a D80 too,.

templeathea

Get a Giotto blower, they are excellent for my d80

Duzzie

Hi folks, Sorry i dont mean to hijack this thread but how often would you clean the sensor. Is it something you'd do once a year, more often or jyst when the pics look like it needs doing. Had my 350D over a year now and thinking maybe i should give the sensor a clean.

Duzzie

Paulw

You clean it as often as it needs cleaning. There is no rule.

My 20D is almost 3 years old now, and has been cleaned 4 times (3 times in 3 months). My 40D is 4 months old and hasn't needed to be cleaned yet.

Just use common sense about dust - power off the camera when changing lens, don't change lens in dusty dirty conditions, always point the body down when changing lens, etc

Calina

Paul, theoretically your 40D should not need to have its sensor cleaned since it is supposed to do it automatically, right?

Paulw

The 40D, like the newer Olympus and Nikon have sensor cleaning. However, all it does is a shake of the panel. So, dust can actually still gather. These sensors will still need cleaning, over time.

No SLR camera is immune to sensor dust.

Carrigman

The automatic sensor cleaning on the 40D, 400D et al helps to minimise dust but it will never eliminate it. Dust is part and parcel of digital SLR photography and it really is no big deal.

First time SLR owners tend to be horrified when they find a few dust shots on their photos but it's something they should expect. Once you start changing lenses dust is going to enter your camera. (And even if you don't change lenses some dust in the form of minute metal particles within the camera will still adhere to the sensor).

You cannot avoid it but you can minimise it. Be sensible when changing lenses - doing so on a windswept sandy beach is NOT a good idea for instance. A Giotto rocket blower brush will get rid of most dust without the need to touch the sensor. Only use a sensor touching method (Copperhill etc) if the dust is really bad.

Any image editor (Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, etc) will easily clone out any dust marks so it's nothing to worry about.

mathias

It really is simple to do and nothing to fret over , just get a good kit , there are plenty mentioned on this board , mine is a green clean kit , does the job beautifully.

Make sure the camera is charged fully , put it on a tripod facing up , make sure you have plenty of light , and put the camera either in sensor cleaning mode ( there is a sensor cleaning mode on canon ) or bulb mode to lift the shutter , remove the lens , swab or blow away all the dust on the sensor , put the lens back on , and your done.

15 mins work at most.